Swine flu scare has surgical mask makers working overtime

A Long Island-based manufacturer of surgical masks is working around-the-clock due to a surge in demand related to concerns over swine flu.

Hauppauge-based Crossstex, a division of Little Falls, N.J.-based Cantel Medical Corp., has received orders for nearly 10 million face masks over the last three days, the amount it usually handles monthly, according to spokesman Andrew Whitehead.

In order to double monthly production to 20 million, Crosstex added shifts and is
seeking to hire at least six additional workers. The firm employs 85 in its 63,000-square-foot Hauppauge facility, where it manufactures masks and other infection control products.

“Come Monday morning, everybody was on the phone. People were calling, wanting to make sure they had enough masks,” Whitehead said. “We’re operating at full tilt to try and produce as many masks as we can to take care of as many people as we can.”

Crosstex operates four factories in the United States, and accesses 90 countries through international distribution centers in Europe, Japan and South America.

“Masks are going to hospitals, government agencies, the Mexican government,” Whitehead said of global demand. “We got a lot of requests from China, Australia, Europe, South America and, of course, Mexico.”

Crosstex also saw surges in orders for hand sanitizers and surface disinfectants, but not on the scale of the demand for masks.

Melville-based Henry Schein Inc., which distributes surgical masks made by Crosstex and other firms to healthcare practitioners, also saw a surge in demand.

“It’s been mostly in the U.S.,” said Susan Vassallo, a Schein spokeswoman. “But we’re seeing some increase outside the U.S.”

Although masks are being shipped to distributors, product is being snapped up for uses beyond health care practitioners.

“The person on the street is wearing them,” Whitehead said. “People overseas are wearing them all the time when they’re out.”

Crosstex sells single-use masks not designed to be worn for long time periods. That’s because moisture breaks down their effectiveness if they’re used more for extended time periods.

“One mask is not meant to be worn all day,” Whitehead said, adding,

“The less effective masks are, the more susceptible people become to whatever they inhale from the air.”

Crosstex saw a bump in demand in 2003 when the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare hit China. But in that case orders were primarily from abroad.

“SARS happened over there. It was offshore,” Whitehead said. “This is here. People here are reacting differently. They’re scared.”

Henry Schein also donated 50,000 surgical masks to nonprofits Americares and Direct Relief International to be distributed in Mexico and the United States.